New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Thursday refrained from providing any immediate relief on a plea to relax its directives limiting the playing of diesel and petrol vehicles in Rohtang Pass, saying it would examine Himachal Pradesh government's stand on how it would address the grievances of tourist vehicle operators.
The green tribunal on May 5 had directed to limit the entry of diesel and petrol tourist vehicles to the 13,050 feet Rohtang Pass till August 14 to 1,000 per day.
The NGT bench headed by judicial member U D Salvi said that state government has to file an exhaustive reply on every aspect raised by taxi and luxury coach operators and say how it proposed to address the problem.
The bench said its only concern was to "protect the environment" and it has taken a "measured approach".
"Our only approach is to protect the environment. We have taken measured steps to the problem. We can discipline ourselves but we can't discipline nature," it said while posting the hearing for tomorrow.
Senior advocate Vibha Dutt Makhija, appearing for taxi and luxury coach operators, said the Supreme Court has directed them to approach the green tribunal for redressal of their grievances.
"We are totally non-polluting vehicles in the eyes of law and are complying with all the conditions, but the environment compensation tax imposed on the vehicles as per the directions of the tribunal is arbitrary and discriminatory," she said.
Additional Advocate General Surya Narayan Singh appearing for the Himachal Pradesh government said though it was complying with the NGT's directions but a serious law and order problem has arisen out of the order of green panel.
"People are sitting on dharna outside the Deputy Commissioner's office, regular strikes of taxi operators are taking place in the area and tourists coming to Manali are fleeing the state," he said.
He said Himachal Pradesh has undertaken several steps for environment protection including complete polythene ban and removal of 150 local dhabas from Manali-Rohtang areas. "We are supporting the taxi operators on certain conditions as situation on the ground is quite different," he added.
During the hearing, Makhija also pointed out that tourist vehicles were already paying three taxes the state -- entry tax, green tax for entering Manali and congestion tax. If environment tax is also levied on them, then it would affect the livelihood of people.
She said that taxi operators charged Rs 1,500 from tourists as fare from Manali and Rohtang Pass but if now they have to pay Rs 2,500 as tax only, no tourist would be willing to go there.
The 13,050 feet Rohtang pass links the Kullu Valley to the remote district of Lahaul and Spiti. It is situated on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km from Manali.
On May 26, the Supreme Court had declined to stay the directions and had asked the affected parties to address their grievances before the green tribunal.
The apex court had only stayed one direction of the green panel that all vehicles would be subjected to pollution checks and should get certificates at the check post to comply with BS-IV standards before being allowed to operate in the scenic Rohtang Pass area.
The NGT in its May 5 order had restricted the number of vehicles passing through Rohtang Pass for tourism purposes to 600 petrol and 400 diesel per day on first-come, first-serve basis and directed that each vehicle allowed would pay an environmental cess.
The NGT has said the amount thus collected should be kept in the account under a separate head by the state government and utilised only for the purpose of restoring ecology and environment.
It had also directed the state government to post a team of police, transport and other departments at Vashisht and Gulaba areas between Manali and Rohtang with complete infrastructure and machinery.
